No Vacancy (A Sudoku Poem)
Molly’s challenge/invitation for the Inklings this month was to channel the “dazzle of color that arrives in spring after months and months of blues and whites and grays.” She gave us a couple of mentor poems, but when I saw this Sudoku poem in the Rattle newsletter, I knew I had to try one.
Sudoku are logic puzzles. “The objective is to fill a 9 × 9 grid with digits so that each column, each row, and each of the nine 3 × 3 subgrids that compose the grid (also called “boxes”, “blocks”, or “regions”) contain all of the digits from 1 to 9.” (thank you, Wikipedia for this concise explanation!) In my Sudoku poem, every row and every column reads as a sort of haiku.
I’m not entirely new to this kind of writing. Once upon a long time ago, I made some mini-canvas mix-and-match haiku sets to give away as gifts. (Could I find any pictures? No, I could not.)
This 5X5 poem started with my Metaphor Dice and the phrase down the left-most column. It grew from there, with color added where I could. If only I had done a time lapse video of the writing and revision I would be able to tell you the exact (hah!) steps for creating a Sudoku Poem. You’ll have to try it for yourself and see what happens!
Here’s what the other Inklings came up with this month:
Linda @A Word Edgewise
Heidi @my juicy little universe
Molly @Nix the Comfort Zone
Catherine @Reading to the Core
Margaret @Reflections on the Teche
Tricia has this week’s Poetry Friday Roundup at The Miss Rumphius Effect. Watch for the signup for July-December roundup hosts next week!
A(nother) Year of Reading 
You are brilliant! I can’t believe my new eyes! Colors are so vivid and bright, I question if they are actually real. I have a set of those haiku cards you made for me. I think they’re tucked in the pocket of a notebook. I’m going to look for them.
LikeLike
Oh wow. This is cool. “my mind is a vacant meadow” too!!! You always inspire with your steady work and creative risk. I love following all of your projects. Thank you for sharing always. And you know, I really am curious now about those small canvases… xo, a.
LikeLike
Mind blown! How fun! And so many brilliant poems within to savor.
LikeLike
This is so wonderful, Mary Lee. And it works diagonally, too! I love that meadow glowing, well, so many others, too. It’s like a little book all-in-one!
LikeLike
Mary Lee, like the others, I am so impressed by your dedication and perseverance to make this sudoku poem a fan favorite starting with an amazing line. “my mind is a vacant meadow” is a beautiful image that makes me want to try writing this kind of poem. I do love this format. Whether I can write one is another thought because I am a sud0ku fan.
LikeLike
So creative, Mary Lee! I love a challenge, so I’ll have to give it a whirl. Thank you for your explanation of how you got it started.
LikeLike
Ahhhh! This is brilliant!!!!
Also it must have taken you forever.
LikeLike
Wow! That is so cool! So fun to see what you take on each week, Mary Lee (so I don’t have to!). :>)
LikeLike
Wow, I’ve never seen a sudoku poem before. This is just too cool. Love reading haiku in all directions!!
LikeLike
I love how varied these are and how many different ways there are to read it. That said, I simply adore the last row and the juxtaposition of sunlight and moonlight.
LikeLike
Wow! I love this concept. And you have done a beautiful job. One arrangement I particularly like is line four, alternating between an adjective and a not-adjective.
LikeLike
Such an intriguing challenge! Well done, Mary Lee – thanks for sharing this poetic adventure. Love the title you picked from the treasured words.
LikeLike
The complexity of this poetic structure was the first thing I noticed, Mary Lee. It suggests quite some trial and error in the ‘making’ of the poem. It speaks to ‘stickability.’ the resulting poem is quite stunning. The format intriguing. I always love poetic structures that take the reader to new and exciting places. Thank you for this.
LikeLike
Woah. This is soooooooo cool! You must lead a workshop on this. I want to play! I have one of your mix and match haiku sets. I love it! I will play AND send you a photo.
LikeLike
Golly moses, I can’t wait to try this! (I too have played with something like this, actually based on a color wheel’s worth of words in recombination.) You have made something poetically logical and logically poetical here, and I especially like column 4 as a slice. But, as with my color wheel project, I have a ton of fun and then end up at “Why would we limit ourselves to just one column, one grid, one wheel of words?”
LikeLike
Whoa! Mind blown! Sudoku and poetry combined!?! This is so clever, fascinating and fun! Each row and each column offers its own magic. Like Heidi, I’m partial to the fourth column. Thanks for introducing this form! I know I’m not the only one who will be playing around with it.
LikeLike
I love the contrasts: vacant, not empty, in moonlight, not shadowed. The whole poem is so colorful and complex and such a challenge to make it work across and down!
LikeLike
So fun, Mary Lee! And what a great exercise in word choice and visual imagery. Will have to jump in and try this!
LikeLike
Mary Lee, this is beautiful and mind-blowing! Now, I’m going to have to try. Do you see what you’ve done! Do you, do you?
What an ingenious poetic form. I love yours.
LikeLike
You inspired me
https://dogtrax.edublogs.org/2023/06/04/sodoku-style-poem-space-is-a-canvas-of-the-unknown/
Kevin
LikeLike
I will need to try this. I love playing sudoku! I think I need my paint chips to mess around.
LikeLike
Oh my gosh! I am obsessed with this! Yours is brilliant.
LikeLike
Love this! I’ve had such fun reading all the variations, but I think my favorite is the diagonal: “My mind – growing – life – not stagnant – magical.” Thanks for this magical form you created and shared with us.
LikeLike
Mary Lee, you are so creative with this cool quilt of words!
LikeLike